A manuscript which narrates the descents of the founders of Lanthony Abbey names “Henricus de Bohun comes Hereford et constabularius Angliæ” as son of “dominus Humfridus quartus de Bohun, comes Herefordiæ et constabularius Angliæ” and his wife “Margaretam comitissam Britanniæ”.
He succeeded his father as hereditary Constable of England. He inherited the principal estates of the former Earls of Hereford, through his paternal grandmother. The Red Book of the Exchequer, listing scutage payments in [1194/95], records "Henricus de Bohun" paying "x s, dimidium militem" in Berkshire.
He was created Earl of Hereford at Porchester 28 Apr 1200. He was one of the 25 barons appointed to secure the observance of Magna Carta in 1215, and after the death of King John supported Louis de France when he invaded England. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Lincoln 20 May 1217.
Matthew Paris records the death in 1220 of “Henricus de Boun comes Hertfordiæ”. The Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall records the death in 1220 of "Henricus de Boum comes Herefordensis". A manuscript which narrates the descents of the founders of Lanthony Abbey records that “Henricus de Bohun” died 1 Jun 1220 and was buried at Lanthony. A manuscript in Aske’s collections names “Milo…Erle of Herforde, Lord of Bricone and of all the Forest of Done, and also Constable of England…Ladi Margaret the furst begotton daughter of the said Milo…married to Humfre of Bohun the third…Humfre of Bohum the iiiith sonne and heire of the foresaid Margaret…Henri of Bohum sonne and heire of the foreseid Margaret…” among those buried at Lanthony Priory. 1
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HENRY DE BOHUN (or de BOUN), of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, hereditary Constable of England, son and heir.... aged 10 in 1185. In 1185 he was a minor in the custody of his widowed grandmother, Margaret de Bohun. He attested a number of her charters and accounted for relief for her lands in 1197. Sometime in the period, 1187-93, he witnessed a charter for his mother to Bradenstoke Priory....
In 1196 his sister, Maud de Bohun, quitclaimed to him all her right to the vill of Walton upon Thames, Surrey (a Bohun family property), in exchange for confirmation of lands which she had in marriage with Juhel de Mayenne, namely lands in the vill of Blackmoor (in Selborne), Hampshire and Newton Tony, Wiltshire.
Henry was created Earl of Hereford 28 April 1200, on his consenting to release his right to certain lands which his ancestor, Miles de Gloucester, Earl of Hereford, had received from his father-in-law, Bernard de Newmarch. In 1200 he was sent with other nobles to escort his uncle, William the Lion, King of Scotland to do homage to King John at Lincoln. The same year he was granted a weekly market and yearly fair at Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Sometime in the period 1200-20, with consent of his wife, Countess Maud, he gave a messuage with curtilage in Framilode (in Fretherne), Gloucestershire to the monks of Winchcombe Abbey. In the same period he granted land in Westbury, Gloucestershire to Richard Fitz Roger, of Westbury, for the services of ¼ knight's fee. In 1204 Earl Henry was involved in a legal dispute with his uncle, David, Earl of Huntingdon, regarding 20 knights' fees in the honour of Huntingdon, including the manors of Glaston and Ryhall, Rutland; Earl David failed to appear to prosecute his claim and seisin was given to Henry. In the period, 1208-11, his uncle, William the Lion, King of Scotland confirmed to William Noble lands in Kilpunt and Illieston (both in Kirkliston), West Lothian in Scotland, which lands were previously granted to said Noble by Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. In 1212 William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury, and his wife, Ela, instituted suit in the king's court against Ela's kinsman, Earl Henry, for the Barony of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, Henry's chief fief. The king assumed control of the honour, but allowed Earl William's agents to levy scutage from its tenants. Sometime before 1215 he granted a house and land on English Street in Southampton to Beaulieu Abbey. In 1215 he joined the confederacy of the barons against the king, and his lands were seized by the king. He was one of the twenty-five barons elected to guarantee the observance of Magna Carta, signed by King John 15 June 1215. In consequence he was among the barons excommunicated by Pope Innocent III 16 Dec. 1215. After the death of King John, he adhered to the party of Louis of France, and his lands were again declared forfeited. He fought at the Battle of Lincoln, where he was taken prisoner 20 May 1217. He was subsequently released and his lands restored, excepting the manor of Ryhall, Rutland. About Michaelmas 1219 Alan le Grant was charged one mark by the king to have an assize of novel disseisin against Henry, Earl of Hereford, in Surrey. Sometime before 1219, he quitclaimed to Malmesbury Abbey all his right to one carucate of pasture land located between Kemble and Chelworth, Wiltshire. Henry de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford, went on a crusade to the Holy Land in 1219, where he died 1 June 1220. He was buried with his son, Henry, in the Chapter House of Llanthony Priory outside Gloucester.... 2
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